In Your Eyes
by Ruxandra Antonescu
Summary: Writing challenge by Leatharegee (post seen at batmanwonderwoman dot com).


_Just playing around with this one. Even I don't know what happens next... But I'll publish any way. Maybe I'll finish this one day. Who knows? ;)_

_Original challenge reads:_  
_Power Swapping By Leatharegee_

_Bruce and Diana have very different, very complimentary strengths and weaknesses. Bruce is wary of metas and Diana's never been without her super strength and meta abilities. Imagine a situation in which Diana loses her powers and Bruce gains them. How would Bruce react to being more than human? How would Diana handle being without her powers? Would Diana be able to accept falling in love with a man physically much stronger than herself?_

_Currently ironing out the update for A Royal Engagement... Will put it up soon!_

_I don't own BMWW._

* * *

**In Your Eyes**

"Stop being so stubborn!" Diana yelled as she yanked the covers off the bed. In her anger, she forgot to modulate her strength. A loud rip resounded through the bedroom.

"Look who's talking!" Bruce bit out, fists clenched tightly by his sides as he struggled vainly against the glowing lasso around him. He suppressed a wince as pain lanced through his side. "You don't understand! No! You _refuse_ to understand!"

Diana whirled around to face him. Being almost as tall as Bruce, it only took a small lift of her chin for her to meet his eyes glare for glare. "No, _you_ don't understand. _You_ refuse to understand! _You_ almost got killed! By the gods and goddesses of Olympus, I _will not_ allow you to patrol Gotham in your condition!"

Unbeknownst to the rest of humanity, the Justice League had just succeeded in foiling an alien invasion. In a last ditch effort to protect the Earth, Bruce, in his typically fatalistic manner, had flown the Javelin straight into the heart of the mothership. If it had not been for the combined efforts of Superman and Green Lantern, Bruce would not have been present to suffer the wrath of the Princess of the Amazons. It took J'onn a considerable time with the healing ray to work on Bruce's massive multiple injuries. As it was, Bruce's body still had a lot of recuperating to do because the minute he regained consciousness, he adamantly insisted that he was fine and that he needed to return to Gotham. The Martian Manhunter had acquiesced reluctantly but made a point to contact Diana telepathically to inform her of what Bruce was up to.

"Not allow me?" a muscle on Bruce's jaw started to tick. "Not _allow_ me?"

Diana let out a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, Bruce. Do you even have any idea just how much it hurts me to see you behave like this? Do you have any idea at all? If only you could see through my eyes, you will understand."

"And if only you could see through mine, Princess," Bruce said softly.

* * *

Atê had a bad reputation among the deities. Most considered her bordering on evil, accusing her of causing a raucous not only among mortals but among the gods and goddesses as well. In truth, Atê only wanted to help avenge evil deeds and inflict just punishment upon offenders – much like Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution or the Erinyes, the three underworld goddesses who avenged crimes against the natural order. But to Atê's eternal chagrin, she almost always ended up wreaking havoc worthy of her mother, Eris, the Goddess of Discord.

Because of her desire to aid the cause of justice, she had observed earth's mightiest heroes during most of their adventures. Sometimes, even helping here and there. But every time she did, something always went wrong. If she didn't know better, she'd think she was cursed.

Atê looked down at the sleeping couple. Among all the members of the Justice League, these two fascinated her the most. No two people could have been so alike yet so different at the same time. She had to admit that she got a giddy feeling when the two started to develop deeper feelings for each other. The relationship was certainly not a bed of roses. Well, maybe it was. But one needed to remember that roses have thorns.

The goddess tapped her lip, an idea forming in her head. She was not the Goddess of Love but… _It couldn't hurt, could it?_ She asked herself.

After a few minutes of deliberation, Atê made up her mind and cast her spell.

* * *

Diana groaned as she rolled over to her side. She hurt all over. It felt like she crawled through the depths of Tartarus and back. Twice.

"What in blue blazes is going on?" she heard herself yell. She ignored the pain as she bolted upright into a sitting position. A wave of nausea hit her from her sudden position change. She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. Slowly, she turned to look to where Bruce was only to see...

"Great Hera…" she whispered. Her decidedly masculine hand flew up to cover her mouth when she heard herself speak in Bruce's baritone. Looking down at herself, she saw Bruce's wide expanse of scarred chest and trim torso. She shook her head in disbelief. The movement made her head spin. _The concussion_, she realized. _Bruce had a concussion._

"What is going on here, Diana?" She could see Bruce shaking, visibly trying to control herself, _himself_.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Bruce," she replied. Her eyes roved over Bruce's sleep-tousled hair, down to his smooth cheekbones, his luscious ruby red lips, his long neck… She felt a tightening in her loins… _By the gods! Wait!_ She told herself in panic. _That's me! I can't be feeling __**this**__ towards __**myself**__, can I?_ She licked her lips battling down her desire. Or was it Bruce's?

Diana – or rather Bruce, in Diana's body, ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Huh?" Diana tilted her head to the side in confusion.

A fiery red flush started creeping up from Bruce's neck towards his cheeks. "You know," he looked meaningfully at Diana's boxers. "That."

"Oh." It was Diana's turn to blush. "It's okay – I mean – it's umm – is this normal?"

Bruce's lips twisted wryly. "It's not uncommon when I'm around you."

"I see."

Bruce was looking at her with awe. "Do you really feel this… this _tenderness_ every time you look at me?"

Diana's blush did not recede. "Sorry."

"Serves you right for using the lasso on me," Bruce retorted. "We seriously need to discuss violations of free will, Diana."

"Oh, put a lid on it, Bruce," Diana snorted. "This is coming from the person who made contingency plans on how to take out every single one of the Justice League?"

"Touché, Princess," Bruce gave her a very rare affectionate smile. He reached over to cradle Diana's face. "I'd kiss you but…"

"It's too weird," Diana finished the sentence.

"Now," Bruce's tone became brisk and business-like. "Which of your gods did this?"

"How sure are you that it's them?"

Bruce arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Diana bit her lip, thinking. "Any one of them could have done this."

"And to what purpose?" Bruce frowned.

* * *

"Nruter sith elpouc ot lamron!" Swirls of light flew from Zatanna's wand.

Bruce blinked. "Nothing happened, Zee."

"I can see that Di – I mean, Bruce," Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Paws seidob won!" The talented magician tried again.

Bruce started to scowl. "Still nothing."

"Zee is trying her best, Bruce," Diana placed a placating hand on Bruce's arm.

Zatanna gave an exaggerated shudder. "It's actually scary to see Batman being very… _nice_…"

"Zatanna…" Bruce said warningly.

"… And Wonder Woman being so catty," Zatanna finished drily. "Tell me again what happened exactly."

Diana sighed. "I woke up feeling sore all over and when I turned to my side, I saw Bruce, rather, I saw myself."

"And what were you doing before this happened?" Zatanna asked.

"None of your business," Bruce snapped.

Diana gave him a warning look. "We had an argument before we went to sleep."

Zatanna smiled slyly. "Was he being mule-headed again?"

"As per usual," Diana chuckled. She proceeded to tell Zatanna about their argument.

"Hmm," Zatanna mused, cocking her head to one side. "And what words were said?"

Diana shook her head. "Nothing that could lead to this, I think."

"Wait," Bruce's eyes widened in recollection. "You told me 'If only you could see through my eyes' and I told you if only you could see through mine."

"A body swap spell!" Zatanna laughed. "This spell can only be broken once you've 'seen' through each other's eyes."

"Then it should have been broken the minute I woke up," Bruce told her matter-of-factly.

"No," Zatanna explained. "It would seem that both of you wanted to know what the other felt like. So, the spell will only be broken once the condition has been met. Either that, or we find whoever it was who cast this spell on both of you and ask him or her to reverse it."

"Condition? What condition?" Diana questioned.

Zatanna shrugged. "It could be time-based, say, you 'see' through each other's eyes for a day or a week..."

"A week!" Bruce was a decibel away from yelling. "I can't patrol Gotham in this body! There's no way I'm…"

Zatanna held up a finger, interrupting the beginnings of his tirade. "Or it could be that you must learn something about each other. It depends on how we interpret the 'see through my eyes' bit."

* * *

"How do you control it?" Bruce growled in frustration. He shoved himself from the cave wall and brushed himself off, bits of rock falling around him. As soon as Zatanna left, the couple decided that it would be best if they both learned how to _**be**_ each other. First up in Bruce's agenda – flying.

"You know what? I honestly don't know. I guess I've always taken it for granted. I just – fly," Diana shrugged. "Maybe it would help if you imagined it as something else. Like maybe… riding a bike?"

Bruce nodded curtly, brow creased in concentration. He hovered several feet off the floor. Cautiously, he began to fly in circles around Diana.

"Very good, Bruce," Diana praised his efforts. "So, I assume I will take over patrolling Gotham until this spell takes its course?"

"No!" Bruce whirled around in midflight. The momentum sent him crashing once again into the cave wall. A ground trembled slightly as Bruce pounded an infuriated fist against the rock face.

Diana rolled her eyes. "Really, Bruce. Think about it. You're in _**my**_ body – a meta's body. And you have not mastered it just yet."

"I'll be damned if I allow you to fight crime in Gotham while you're in mine!" Bruce stalked towards her.

"Are you implying that I am incompetent to do so?" Diana's eyes glinted dangerously. A feeling of incapacitating dread began to pulse inside her as she stood glaring at Bruce, as she stood glaring at _herself_. She wanted to weep with worry. It took all of her self-control to quell the impulse. _Great Hera,_ she thought. _Where is this coming from?_

Bruce's face softened. He reached up and touched her cheek gently. "You are no longer immortal, Princess."

As if a light bulb lit up in her head, Diana suddenly understood that the feeling of worry was Bruce's. "You're worried about me… I never realized you felt this strongly, Bruce."

"It seems that this is not a total swap," Bruce sighed. "Looking at you – at myself, I feel an overwhelming sense of absolute, unquestioning trust…"

"Because I do trust you, Bruce," Diana said softly. "Now, if only you would extend the same trust to me?"

"You know I do."

Diana knew, or rather felt, that he was telling the truth. She could feel that Bruce trusted her but did not want to put her in harm's way – immortal or not. He wanted to protect her, to shield her, not just from physical danger but also from the cruel world that he grew up in. She could feel his fear, his guilt…

"I struggle with that every day, Princess," Bruce told her, correctly interpreting her pained expression.


End file.
